RICHEST AND POOREST

In my English text book of class X there was a lesson “Why there is an evil in the world?” It was a story by Leo Tolstoy about a Hermit and a Stag. Tolstoy says at one place that “Wretchedness shared makes doubly wretched”. How true is this saying? Poverty shared will also increase more poor in numbers.

The above fact is shown in an Oxfam worldwide Organisation’s study (T.O.I..21-01-14) ahead of World Economic Forum is held in Davos. It gives in detail and percentagewise the distribution of the wealth of the world. According to Oxfam survey just 1% of Global population holds $ 1.7 trillion of recorded wealth which is equivalent to wealth of 3.5 billion poor people of the world. They, the richest, also hold 21 trillion of un-recorded wealth in shores and off-shores and they are only 85 families in the world!

Un-recorded wealth is the black & undeclared wealth where Tax is not paid whether it is in own country or outside their country and it makes difference in enjoyment, privilege and luxury to the owner only.

What does off-shore stored up money and wealth produce for the owners? Do they earn any interests on that off-shore wealth? Where do these off-shore countries use this wealth? Is this unrecorded wealth used in the World Monetary Fund and International Monetary Fund (IMF)? Is it used in Drugs & Arms peddling? Or in giving Aids and Loans to poor & developing countries? Or in Casinos or in so called Charities or in building Monuments & memorials for self glory? Or in repatriating it as white-money in some way! Or in researches, innovations or in things to generate more wealth for them through the now about 29% of the rich and middle class of the world population, working for the few.

When the sufferings of the rest 69% of population pricks and pinches the dormant ‘conscience’ of the supreme-rich class of people then they try to balm themselves with Philanthropy, Trusts, Foundations and Charities.

There is a limit of making money and generating wealth and once that limit is reached then the wealth itself becomes self-generating of wealth unless some natural or man-made disaster comes in her way to stop its growth.

Oxfam report also says that in past decade number of billionaires in India has increased by tenfold but the gap between rich and poor has also widened by many fold. The rule of Patenting a product and undefined secrecy and privacy laws keep the wealth in the hands of a few. Also creation of artificial money & wealth through stock markets’ speculations which is held by 85 richest families of the world is the open basin of pooled monies. But when the markets crashes then super rich people also crash with it.

The discoverer scientists do not make money but a few inventors and technologists do make money and wealth in democratic republic societies.

The Governments of most of the countries proclaim themselves as the ‘well-fare’ Governments to the general public that votes them again and again to rule them in hope of receiving some welfare from the Government but what they receive instead a few false promises, a few new freebees, a few subsidies, a few accident-prone roads, a few disastrous dams and ever untrustworthy power supply, healthcare, sanitation, transport, education and homes in the name of progressive taxation for 69% of the population because the ‘super rich class’ enjoys the regressive taxation and accumulates more wealth by exploiting poor in the name of vanity and eyes & ears dazzling announcements.

There have always been rich and poor in this world and there will always remain rich and poor but now and at present we boast as if we are at pinnacle of advancement, the widening gap between rich and poor shall not keep on widening instead it shall now be reducing in width so that all humanity live in a helpful and comfortable manner.